Report: Housing not adequate for growing boomer population

The loans can be a life line for house-rich, cash-poor seniors struggling with daily living expenses. Reverse mortgages also have been used to help retirees improve their lifestyles. But problems and confusion are expected to continue as more baby boomers retiring with little or no savings turn to the loans for help getting by. less

The loans can be a life line for house-rich, cash-poor seniors struggling with daily living expenses. Reverse mortgages also have been used to help retirees improve their lifestyles. But problems and confusion ... more

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The loans can be a life line for house-rich, cash-poor seniors struggling with daily living expenses. Reverse mortgages also have been used to help retirees improve their lifestyles. But problems and confusion are expected to continue as more baby boomers retiring with little or no savings turn to the loans for help getting by. less

The loans can be a life line for house-rich, cash-poor seniors struggling with daily living expenses. Reverse mortgages also have been used to help retirees improve their lifestyles. But problems and confusion ... more

Photo: Fotolia

Report: Housing not adequate for growing boomer population

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An aging population will mean increased demand for affordable, accessible housing over the next two decades that isn't available in the current market, a report released Tuesday from Harvard University found.

The baby boom generation will grow to 79 million, from 48 million, in the next 20 years. More housing will need to be designed specifically for people who need single-floor living, no steps at the entrances and wide doors and hallways, the report found. Only 3.5 percent of homes offer these features.

"The housing implications of this surge in the older adult population are many," Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, said in a statement, "and call for innovative approaches to respond to growing need for housing that is affordable, accessible and linked to supportive services that will grow exponentially over the next two decades."

Financial hardships will also persist. Some 6.4 million low-income renters will pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing by 2035. Among homeowners, 8.6 million people will be paying half of their income for housing in that time frame. The number of adults qualifying for federal subsidies is projected to increase 90 percent from 2013.

"Right now, more than 19 million older adults live in unaffordable or inadequate housing, and that problem will only grow worse in the next two decades as our population ages," Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation, which provided funding for the report, said in a statement.